One day after a public opinion poll showed Republican Charles Djou leading Democrats Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa, all three candidates sought to rally their base but also reach out to voters wanting change.
The quick takeaway from the May 3 televised debate: Djou is a fresh face and fiscal conservative who will bring political balance to Hawaii’s delegation in D.C., Case is a moderate-independent with past experience in Congress, and Hanabusa is the candidate who most embodies local Democratic values.
The context: Djou supporters are emboldened by the real possibility Hawaii will send only its third Republican to Washington in 50 years — if only for seven months — and deal a blow to Democrats’ one-party dominance. Neither Case nor Hanabusa said they would drop out before the May 22 vote in order to get a Democrat elected in the winner-take-all contest
Alarmed, national Dems are paying close attention. Politico the White House and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee think Case is the stronger candidate. Meanwhile, a robocall recorded by President Obama is asking 1st Congressional voters to pick a Democrat “who will support my agenda in Congress,” according to .
A Djou win would not only chip away at Democrats’ majority in the U.S. House; because Obama was born in Honolulu, a Republican victory in the 1st District would be a major PR coup.
Join the discussion about Hawaii politics.
GET IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON HAWAII’S BIGGEST ISSUES
Support Independent, Unbiased News
Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in ±á²¹·É²¹¾±Ê»¾±. When you give, your donation is combined with gifts from thousands of your fellow readers, and together you help power the strongest team of investigative journalists in the state.
About the Author
-
Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at .